Overcrowding prompts Westford board to postpone gun discussion

By Sarah Favot, sfavot@lowellsun.com

Updated:
02/13/2013 08:43:33 AM EST

WESTFORD -- More than 100 people filled Town Hall Tuesday night, spilling from the second-floor meeting room through the hallway and down onto the first floor, for a discussion about what could be one of the first proposals to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines in a Massachusetts community.

The Board of Selectmen had planned to make a decision as to whether the proposed amendments to the town's firearms bylaw would be included on the town's March 23 annual Town Meeting warrant.

After a few minutes into the 7:30 meeting, Chairman Kelly Ross announced that discussion wouldn't happen in what he described as one of his "lowest points as selectman."

"We will take off tonight's agenda anything to do with firearms," he said.

Fire officials said Town Hall was over capacity and some people had to leave the building.

Fire Chief Richard Rochon said the second-floor capacity is 77 and the room where the meeting is held is 49.

Ross took responsibility for not moving the meeting to a larger room ahead of time.

"It's entirely my fault, my apologies," he said.

Some attendees blamed selectmen for not foreseeing the room would not be large enough to accommodate the crowd that would attend Tuesday's meeting.

"They didn't have a choice. It's a public-safety issue. It's unfortunate this wasn't determined ahead of time," said former Selectman Nancy Rosinski, who came to the meeting to oppose the bylaw because of the process.

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"It's disrespectful of all the folks that came tonight," she added.

Al Prescott, a firearms instructor and an opponent of the proposed bylaw, said he looks forward to be able to come back and discuss the bylaw.

"I'll come back as many times as I have to," he said.

Some of the seats in the board's meeting room were reserved for Finance Committee members because the two boards were discussing several budget items in preparation for Town Meeting.

"(The Board of Selectmen) should have been proactive and moved the meeting to a location that could have accommodated the larger than normal resident participation," Debra Grumbach, an opponent of the measure, wrote in a prepared statement.

The board did ask fire officials to be present at the meeting because of a concern about capacity. A police officer was also present.

The proposal was spearheaded by Selectman Robert Jefferies days after the deadly mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. The selectmen drafted a bylaw proposal.

Some selectmen have said they would like the discussion to occur on Town Meeting floor, while other selectmen have expressed concern about how quickly the process has moved and whether or not Town Meeting floor is an appropriate place for the discussion.

Jefferies said the intent of the proposed ban is to protect public safety personnel, students in schools and the public at-large.

The selectmen are planning to schedule a meeting next week at a larger venue to hold discussion about the proposed ban and other articles that would open up the Town Meeting warrant.

In other business:

* Selectmen met with state Sen. Eileen Donoghue and state Rep. James Arciero to discuss the governor's fiscal 2014 budget. Both selectmen and School Committee Chairman Angela Harkness communicated concern about education funding.

Harkness said special-education expenses have increased by $465,0000 this year.

"I want to emphasize how difficult it is for us to maintain the same quality school system that our citizens and residents are used to with ever-declining state revenues and ever-increasing state mandates," Harkness said.

* Selectmen voted to move the date of the town election from May 7 to April 30 to coincide with the date of the special state primary. The move will save the town about $4,000. Jefferies abstained from voting since he is running for re-election.

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